Amputees retrace WW2 Cockleshell Heroes journey

Nine amputee British servicemen are to retrace the journey made during one of the most famous and daring raids of WWII.

In December 1942, during Operation Frankton, ten Royal Marines set off in canoes from the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna to attach mines to enemy supply ships in Bordeaux on the Bay of Biscay in Nazi-occupied France. Only two survived. However, they succeeded in sinking one ship and severely damaging four others and doing enough damage in the port to greatly disrupt the use of the harbour for months to come. Such was the significance of the raid that Winston Churchill said that it helped to shorten World War Twoby six months.

The exploits were immortalised in the 1955 film The Cockleshell Heroes. These men got their nickname from the canoes they used - Cachalot, Conger, Coalfish, Cuttlefish, Crayfish, Catfish - which were nicknamed ‘cockles’.

The nine amputee servicemen - including Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, Cpl Andy Reid, Cpl Hari Budha Magar, Sgt Colin Hamilton and Sapper Jim Wilsonandjoined by the great niece of one of the original team - left Portsmouth on Friday for France where they will re-enact Operation Frankton.

Lance Bombardier Parkinson suffered more than 40 injuries in a bomb attack in Afghanistan in 2006.

As well as brain damage which affected his memory and speech, he also broke his pelvis, his back in four places, shattered his arm and chest, and lost both legs. In July 2012 he carried the Olympic Flame through his hometown of Doncaster on prosthetic legs, even though he was told he would never walk again. In May last year he received an MBE from Prince Charles.

The trip was organised by Hampshire charity Pilgrim Bandits.

Team member Andy Reid, a former corporal in the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, lost both legs and his right arm in Afghanistan in 2009.

He said: "It's a big change when you are out of the forces and for me it will be good to have a bit of banter again, have a laugh with the lads like I used to."

Sarah Holmes, the great niece of Corporal George Sheard, who died in the raid, will be dropping pebbles bearing the names of the original Operation Frankton team along the route.

The 46-year-old, who is honorary secretary of the Frankton Families association, said: "Being able to honour my very brave uncle, all his brave colleagues and all those that fought in all conflicts is a huge privilege."

Into the unkown: the mission as portrayed in 'The Cockleshell Heroes' 1955

Nine amputee servicemen are to retrace the journey made during one of the most famous missions of World War Two.

The Cockleshell Heroes were 10 Royal Marine canoeists whose task was to attach mines to enemy supply ships in Bordeaux. Only two survived.

The servicemen, joined by the great niece of one of the original team, left Portsmouth on Friday for France where they will re-enact Operation Frankton.

The trip was organised by Hampshire charity Pilgrim Bandits.

Team member Andy Reid, a former corporal in the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, lost both legs and his right arm in Afghanistan in 2009.

'Huge test'

Ben Parkinson, who defied predictions that he would never walk again, is one of those injured servicemen retracing the journey made by the Cockleshell Heroes

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna

He said: "It's a big change when you are out of the forces and for me it will be good to have a bit of banter again, have a laugh with the lads like I used to."

Sarah Holmes, the great niece of Corporal George Sheard, who died in the raid, will be dropping pebbles bearing the names of the original Operation Frankton team along the route.

The 46-year-old, who is honorary secretary of the Frankton Families association, said: "Being able to honour my very brave uncle, all his brave colleagues and all those that fought in all conflicts is a huge privilege.

"This will be a huge test for me physically too - I've been training but the Gironde River is a fast flowing tidal river, rough and challenging.

"My uncle's body was never recovered so by releasing these memorial pebbles at each of the points where the original crew members are thought to have been lost will be a tribute of remembrance and pride on behalf of all the Frankton Families.

"But without the sacrifice of so many maybe our lives today would not have been possible."

British wartime derring-do: The Cockleshell Heroes of 1942

The Cockleshell Heroes raided Nazi-occupied Bordeaux in December 1942(external - login to view) in ‘Operation Frankton’. The Cockleshell Heroes' target was the harbour complex in the city. The port was very important to the Germans as many merchant ships used it to supply the German Army stationed not only in France but also elsewhere throughout occupied Europe. They succeeded in sinking one ship and severely damaging four others and doing enough damage in the port to greatly disrupt the use of the harbour for months to come. Such was the significance of the raid that Winston Churchill(external - login to view) said that it helped to shorten World War Two(external - login to view) by six months.

Another important reason for ‘Operation Frankton’ to succeed was that German U-boats(external - login to view) used the port as a base and any disruption to their Atlantic patrols would have been highly important.

Any German merchant ships that came through the English Channel could be dealt with by either the Royal Navy or by Coastal Command. But plenty of merchant ships were willing to risk sailing to Bordeaux harbour via the Mediterranean Sea and there was little the Royal Navy could do about it. A raid by bombers(external - login to view) would have led to many civilian casualties – so this was excluded.

The task of the Cockleshell Heroes was simple – destroy as many ships in the harbour as was possible so that the harbour itself would be blocked with wreckage, thus rendering it incapable of fully operating as a harbour.

The Cockleshell Heroes were from the Royal Marine(external - login to view) Boom Patrol Detachment. These men got their nickname from the canoes they were to use which were themselves nicknamed ‘cockles’. After months of training, they set-off for their target on board the submarine ‘HMS Tuna’. Out of the twelve Marines, only Major Hasler, the group commander, and Lieutenant Mackinnon knew where they were going as they had helped formulate the plan. The other ten Marines were only told their target once ‘Tuna’ surfaced off the French coast.

The plan was for the six teams of two men to paddle five miles to the mouth of the River Gironde, paddle seventy miles up it, plant limpet mines on the ships in the harbour and then make their way to Spain.

The raid started badly once the men were due to be dropped off by ‘HMS Tuna’. One of the canoes was holed as it was being made ready on the Tuna. The two Royal Marines who were meant to have used this canoe – called ‘Cachalot’ – could not take part in the raid. It is said that Marines Fisher and Ellery were left in tears at their disappointment.

As the canoes approached the mouth of the River Gironde they hit a violent rip tide. The waves were five feet high and the canoe ‘Conger’ was lost. The two crew of ‘Conger’ – Corporal George Sheard and Marine David Moffat – were towed by the other canoes. Once near the shoreline, both men had to swim to the shore as they were slowing down the remaining canoes. Neither man made it to the shore. It was assumed that they had both drowned.

The crew of the canoe ‘Coalfish’ – Sergeant Samuel Wallace and Marine Jock Ewart - were caught by the Germans, interrogated and shot after being held captive for two days. Despite being in uniform, their captors carried out Hitler(external - login to view)’s infamous ‘Commando Order’(external - login to view) – that anyone captured on commando raids was to be shot.

The crew of the ‘Cuttlefish’ – Lieutenant John Mackinnon and Marine James Conway – had to abandon their canoe after it was damaged. They were also caught by the Germans who handed the pair over to the Gestapo. It is though that both men were held and interrogated for about three months before being shot.